Drones and Aggregates Operations

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Published: Friday, 07 September 2018 12:04

Written by Mark Kuhar

Sept. 6, 2018 – At this year's InterDrone show in Las Vegas, aggregates operations are in the spotlight. Industry experts on a panel discussed how data from drones is being used; how aggregates plants can optimize this data; and how plants are doing it. Rather than just capturing data, they’re seeing the data being used for accounting purposes to help drive profitability. Using drones for site planning is lagging way behind inventory management, the experts maintained. According to Jesse Stepler, from Measure – the Drone as a Service Company, how drones will interface with other robotics at plants is a question for the future. How far away are we from being able to use drones for monitoring performance of fixed assets at plants like crushers, screens, conveyors, etc.? Very realistic potential, according to Shaun Macintosh, solutions engineer at Propeller Aero.

Mark S. Kuhar, Editor

Mark S. Kuhar, based in Ohio, is the editor of Rock Products, Cement Americas and Frac Sand Insider. After graduating from Ohio University, and working in industrial and public service jobs for several years, he began his editorial career in 1987 as an assistant editor on Pit & Quarry and Concrete magazines. Since taking over the helm of Rock Products, he has continued to develop new products to serve the aggregates industry, including the Crushing & Breaking Spec Guide, Frac Sand Insider e-newsletter, Frac Sand Insider Conference and Expo, the Rock Products Latin American Aggregates Seminar at ConExpo Latin America, The Aggregates Almanac and the International Cement Seminar. SEMCO Publishing, with Rock Products, Cement Americas, Concrete Products and The Asia Miner, is the market share-leading publisher of print advertising and digital content for the construction-materials industry.